


It's A New Dawn, It's A New Day

by Tygermama



Category: The Losers (2010)
Genre: Bonding, Female Character of Color, Gen, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-16
Updated: 2012-01-16
Packaged: 2017-10-29 15:37:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/321464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tygermama/pseuds/Tygermama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The ladies of the Losers go on a road trip.</p>
<p>This work is written in sections with links to youtube videos as headers for each, a sort of enhancement/built in soundtrack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's A New Dawn, It's A New Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Feather (lalaietha)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalaietha/gifts).



['Baby, Please Don't Go' - Muddy Waters](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=838Ka13qjAk&ob=av2n)

It was early evening, the sun was just starting to go down, giving the light a heavy, golden cast. The air smelled of rain and was still damp as it whipped past Jolene's arm, reaching out the car window to catch the currents.

It was a beautiful night, just driving down the highway, good music playing softly.

Jolene sighed, “Do you think I should call?”

Abby, Jensen's sister, was driving. She shook her head at Jolene, “No.”

“But...”

“No, I said.”

“Abby!”

“Your baby is fine. Your man is fixing the kitchen as we speak. Jensen's great with babies. You don't need to call.”

“I just...”

“No. No guilt. No shame. No bad feelings of any kind.”

“I just abandoned my family, Abby!”

“NO, YOU DID NOT!”

Abby pulled over and turned to face Jolene, “In the past eighteen months; your husband was falsely branded a traitor and presumed dead, along with his entire team, who you consider _family_ ; your husband and his entire team _came back from the dead_ ; you had a _baby_ ; you had to give up your home and your family store and move across the country because there's a psychotic douche in a suit after them; you haven't had a moment's peace in all that time; yesterday morning, Clay nearly killed us all because he cannot make toaster waffles without starting a fucking fire! And then you started to cry and scared the shit out of everyone. Correct?”

Jolene nodded yes.

“You have dealt with more shit in the last eighteen months than most people deal with in... Ever! You deserve a break. You haven't abandoned anyone. You know, as well as I do, you're going back to your man and your baby. You need a fucking vacation to process. Fuck, so do I. And that's what we're doing. The boys can take care of themselves.” Abby leaned across the seat and gave Jolene a hug.

Jolene clung to Abby for a while, then she drew back, wiping her eyes and sniffling. “As long as they keep Clay out of the kitchen?”

Abby smiled and wiped her eyes too, “Clay knows if he even looks at that kitchen, Cougar'll shoot him.”

{}{}{}

['Roadrunner' - Bo Diddley and Ron Wood](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SewMsp5WXEo&feature=related)

Aisha and Jenna were waiting in the backseat while Abby and Jolene went into the gas station to grab snacks. Aisha was watching Jenna play air-guitar to a twangy song she didn't recognize.

“What is this?” she asked.

Jenna smiled, Aisha noted that it was her uncle's open grin, “It's 'Roadrunner' by Bo Diddley. I wish I could play guitar like him.”

Aisha shrugged, “Why don't you?”

“Because I can't,” Jenna said, looking puzzled.

“Have you tried?”

Jenna frowned, “Um, no.”

“Then how do you know you can't? Never do that, never tell yourself you can't do something. Especially without trying, giving your all. You'll never accomplish anything if you keep telling yourself not to even try.” Aisha said, staring into Jenna's eyes.

Jenna nodded and swallowed. “I understand. Is that how you learned to, well, you know.”

“To 'I know'?” Aisha asked, trying not to smile. Jenna had learned tact at her uncle's knee, it seemed.

“Kick ass and take names! Even Clay gives you the side-eye! Uncle Jake says you're a badass chick! But then Mom smacked him for calling you a chick. You're not going to shoot him, are you?” Jenna exclaimed, her bounciness levelling off as she realized she may have said something offensive.

_Not again, no._ Aisha thought. She smiled at Jenna and said, “Just, whatever you want to do, put all of yourself into it. Work your hardest, you'll be surprised what you can do when you're sufficiently motivated.”

“Okay.” Jenna said, nodding. She went back to 'playing' along to her song.

A few minutes later, Abby and Jolene got back into the car, loaded down with bags. 

“So, you two get along okay?” Abby asked, handing back bags of chips and bottles of water.

“Yeah! Mom, can I have guitar?” Jenna asked, ripping her bag open.

Abby stopped in the middle of her drink and swallowed, “Say what, sweetie?”

“ _May_ I please have a guitar, Mom?” Jenna asked again.

Abby blinked, “Why do you want a guitar? You don't know how to play.”

“So I can learn to play, Mom! I should at least try, right?” Jenna asked, smiling at Aisha.

Abby shrugged, “Why not.”

“Ask Cougar about it when we get back. He know how to play.” Jolene said, deciding between the candy bar and the Twizzlers she held in her hands.

“He does?” Jenna asked, tipping her bag of chips into her mouth. She had already finished the bag.

Jolene laughed, “Yes, he does, honey. I'm sure he'll be happy to teach you.”

{}{}{}

['Talking Old Soldiers' - Bettye Lavette](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0nO9VXC6lw)

“Mom?” 

It was late, the air was heavy and damp, the heat oppressive, even in the middle of the night.

“Mom? I had a bad dream.” Jenna said, sniffling and trying to hold back sobs.

Abby instantly woke up, rolled over and hugged Jenna close, “Oh, baby, was it the same dream?”

“Yes, and everyone was dead again and, and I was trying to save them but I couldn't reach and Uncle Jay was covered in blood and I saw Roque and, and,” Jenna began to sob in earnest.

Abby stroked Jenna's hair and rubbed her back, “It's okay, baby. It's alright, everyone is safe and no one is hurt and when we're done our trip, we'll all go back home and you'll see. Everyone is fine.”

“What about Roque? He's not home.” Jenna said, twisting her fingers in Abby's t-shirt.

Abby sighed, “Just... just don't you worry about Roque, okay? He's...”

“No! No one will tell me what happened to Roque and I wanna know? Is he okay? Is he coming back? Is he dead? I'm not stupid, you can tell me the truth!” Jenna pushed at her mother and tried to get up but Abby wasn't letting go and Jenna was too tired to put up much of a fight and soon she collapsed into her mother's arms, tears streaming down her face.

“We need to tell her, Abby,” Jolene said, grabbing a box of tissues off the dinky motel table and sitting down beside Abby and Jenna.

Abby sniffled and nodded. “Okay, sweetie, okay. You calm down and we'll answer all your questions.”

After a few minutes, Jenna struggled out of Abby's arms, “Let go, I wanna wash my face.”

When she returned from the bathroom, Jenna sat down beside her mother and looked at the three women expectantly. “So?”

Abby sighed, “Sweetie, Roque's dead.”

Jenna began picking the tissue in her hands apart, “I figured. No one would say anything about him. They won't even say his name. I asked Uncle Jake once and he just looked sad and Cougar said a bad word in Spanish and took off.”

Abby put her arm around Jenna, “You see, there's more. It's not good.”

Abby looked at Jolene. Jolene shrugged her shoulders.

Aisha cleared her throat.

Everyone looked at her. Jenna's eyes were teary, Abby looked apprehensive, Jolene questioning.

Aisha looked directly at Jenna, “No one wants to tell you about Roque because he did something they don't understand. Something bad.”

“Like what?” Jenna asked.

“He betrayed the team. He sold Clay out to Max and lead them all into a trap.” Aisha said.

Jenna shook her head, “No, no. He wouldn't do that.” 

Jenna looked at Abby and Jolene, hoping they would contradict Aisha. They didn't.

“But why? Why would he do that? He loves us, all of us! He never killed Uncle Jake even once! He played tea parties with me! Why would he do that?” Jenna asked, getting louder and more distraught with every sentence.

Abby held Jenna closer and Jolene sat down on the floor in front of her, holding her hand.

“Roque betrayed them because he was tired and hurt and he just wanted it all to stop.” Aisha said.

All eyes turned to her.

Aisha winced slightly and made a sort of 'I-don't-know-how-to-explain' motion with her hands. She took a deep breath and began to speak.

“The operation was a hoax. Max had screwed over the team. He blew up a the chopper that they were supposed to be on. They were supposed to be dead. They were called traitors. Their government had betrayed them. There was no one to trust. The team had lost, Roque had lost, against an enemy they didn't even know existed. And who was too powerful to fight. He just wanted to get everyone home safe. Clay wouldn't listen. Clay was putting revenge ahead of keeping the men safe. Clay wasn't listening to him anymore. And the men followed their colonel, they didn't know what else to do. So no one listened to Roque. So fuck Clay, fuck them all if they weren't going to listen. Fuck taking care of what was important. Go hunting for some voice because a man with a voice is a man with a throat, then to hell with them all. He was going to take care of himself. Because he was beaten and tired and hurting and he just wanted it all to stop. Even if it killed him.”

Aisha looked up to find all three staring at her. She shrugged. “When you think you've lost everything, you grab onto anyway to stop from losing anymore, anyway to get out of that situation. It's hard not to want that, for the pain to end.”

“But I still miss him,” Jenna said. She sounded lost and confused.

Jolene squeezed her hand, “They all do, baby. We all miss him. That's why it hurts so much. That's why the boys can't talk about it. They hate him for what he did, but they still love him too.”

“You can do that?” Jenna asked, leaning into her mother.

Abby kissed the top of her head, “Yeah, sweetie. Love's weird like that. You can hate someone and still love them at the same time.”

“I don't get it.” Jenna said.

“Neither do we,” Jolene replied, “But it's still true.”

“This sucks!” Jenna yelled in frustration.

Aisha chuckled softly. Then Jolene kissed Jenna's hand and hid her face, her shoulders shaking. Abby hid her face in Jenna's hair. 

Jenna looked at the other women, not understanding why they were laughing. 

Aisha recovered first and smiled at Jenna's expression, “Sometimes we laugh to keep from crying.”

“Or to keep from grabbing a gun and going on a rampage,” Abby said, kissing Jenna's head again.

Jenna just sighed and hugged her mother. 

{}{}{}

['Hound Dog' - Big Mama Thornton](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoHDrzw-RPg)

The next day found Aisha taking over the driving while Abby sat in the back. Jenna was lying down with her head on her mother's lap, Abby idly running her fingers through her hair.

Jolene was sitting shotgun, playing with the laptop Jensen had given her before they'd started their trip. He had rigged the laptop to interface with the car's iPod port, so Jolene could take her most of her music collection with her, almost 600 gigs of songs.

“Any requests?” Jolene asked, scrolling through the playlist.

“What about Elvis? He's kinda cool. Uncle Jay used to listen to him all the time.” Jenna asked, pushing herself up.

Abby looked up and shook her head. “Here we go.” she whispered.

Jolene turned around in her seat and waved her finger at Jenna, “Your uncle doesn't listen to Elvis anymore because _I_ taught him about real music. And... And...” 

Jolene took a deep breath and turned back around, forcing herself to relax.

Jenna looked at her with wide eyes, “Soooo, Elvis is bad? But I thought he was the...”

“Don't say it!” Jolene blurted out, covering her face with her hands.

“Aisha, pull over.” Abby said, smiling.

“Mom?”

“Abby?”

“It's okay. Jenna, you just hit Jolene's biggest nerve ever. Jolene, we're going to switch seats and you can tell Jenna all about the _real_ history of rock'n'roll, okay. She should learn this stuff at home, no telling what she'll learn about music on the street.” Abby said, giggling as she undid her seat belt.

Aisha pulled over. Jolene hopped out and opened the door for Abby, holding her laptop to her chest. Jenna watched Jolene get back into the car, shaking her head.

“Um, there isn't going to be a test on this, is there? 'Cause I'm on vacation, you know.” Jenna said, eyeing Jolene with apprehension.

“Maybe, I haven't decided yet. But I did make Jake write me an essay. I still have it somewhere.” Jolene said, reaching across the seat to get at the cords to hook the laptop back up the sound system. “We're going to start with Elvis. You see, Jenna, early rock'n'roll wasn't created by white folks. Lots of the early rock music was sung first by black people but white music execs wouldn't sell black music to people, so they got white musicians to cover the songs.”

Jenna helped Jolene with the cords, “But that's stupid!”

“Yes, it is stupid, honey. And I'll play you some good stuff now. I bet you've heard El-, well, the first person to sing “Hound Dog” was Big Mama Thornton, we'll start with her.” Jolene said, queuing up the song.

Aisha looked at Abby out of the corner of her eye, “She's not going to make us write essays, is she?”

“Shh!” Abby whispered, holding her finger to her lips, “Don't give Jolene any ideas. That essay Jake had to write was over 25 pages, _before_ the bibliography!”

{}{}{}

['A Change Is Gonna Come' - Aretha Franklin, originally by Sam Cooke](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6YCxXQ6Scw&feature=related)

Abby was lying across one of the double beds, her head hanging upside down off the edge, watching Aisha. 

Aisha was sharpening one of her knives, pretending not to notice.

“Aisha, can I ask you something?” she asked quietly. Jenna was asleep on the other bed, her back to the light.

Aisha looked up at Abby, “I suppose you can. What do you want to know?”

“Can I play with your hair?”

“Come again?” Aisha blurted out.

Abby sat up and turned around, “May I play with your hair?”

Aisha blinked, “Why?”

“Why not?” Abby said, smiling.

Aisha shrugged, “You've got a point.”

Abby squealed, grabbed one of the pillows from the head of the bed and threw it on the floor, “Sit on that.”

Aisha put her knife away and sat down, shaking her head. “I don't believe I'm doing this.”

Jolene opened the door and came in just as Aisha was getting settled. She was carrying three bottles of wine and some plastic glasses. 

“Aisha's letting me play with her hair!” Abby whispered, rooting through her purse for a comb.

Jolene just shook her head and started handing out bottles, “Only the finest twist-off vintages for my ladies.”

Aisha opened her bottle and poured some into the plastic glass Jolene handed her. 

Abby just threw the cap at the garbage can and took a drink straight from the bottle. “Not too bad for something you got at the gas station.”

Jolene sat at the table and poured herself a drink, “You are the classiest, Abby.”

“You know it, babe.” Abby replied. She gently took the pins and elastic out of Aisha's hair. 

Aisha closed her eyes and leaned into the touch. “You seem calmer.” Aisha said, her eyes still closed.

Jolene looked up, “I suppose I am. Just... I got Pooch and Junior and the boys are safe for now. It's just hard. Giving up my folks' store, I mean. I loved that place.”

“Who says you have to give it up?” Abby asked, massaging Aisha's scalp.

“I had to close the store, let go of my people, put the records in storage. The building's either sold or torn down by now. I can't go back.” Jolene whispered, trying to keep her voice down and not wake Jenna up.

“What can I do to your hair?” Abby asked, going through her and Jenna's hair things.

“Braid it.” Aisha said, taking another drink. 

“'Kay. Jo, I know you can't go back to that physical location, but that doesn't mean you have to give up on what you want. Sometimes shit happens and you have to reassess, reorganize, reschedule, reconsider, but you don't have to give up.” Abby said, still focused on Aisha.

“What was so special about your store, anyway?” Aisha asked, wincing a little as Abby pulled on a tangle.

Jolene took a drink before answering. “It was my parents' store. I grew up there. It's just... Always been a huge part of my life.”

“Oh! So that's the store Pooch was talking about!” Abby exclaimed, squeaking a bit at the end as she tried to keep quiet.

Jolene looked shocked, “He told you about that?”

“Well, he was completely obliterated at the time and when he asked the next day, I lied and told him he did a naked hula on my picnic table in the backyard.” Abby said, sectioning off Aisha's hair.

Aisha cracked an eye open, “Sex in the stockroom?”

“Of course, it's the only place we got any privacy. We were in high school.” Jolene smiled and took another drink.

“I've never had to deal with an upheaval like this. You guys must think I'm a wimp.” Jolene said, picking at the label on her wine bottle.

“I do not.” Aisha said, “I think you've handled it quite well. If Clay set my house on fire, I'd go after him with a knife.”

“I've had to pack up and move so many times, I get nervous if I own more stuff than I can fit into my minivan.” Abby said, fingers skillfully braiding. “But you shouldn't judge by me. Mom had to move us around a lot, following Dad and then just trying to make ends meet after he died.”

“How did you deal with it? All the changes, I hate it. I just want everything to stop, it's driving me fucking nuts wondering what's going to come next.” Jolene said, flinging her hands up into the air.

“You hope for the best, prepare for the worst and keep scotch on hand.” Abby said, shrugging her shoulders. “I've never understood how you could do it, have your whole life planned out and keep everything on track like you do. I mean, I'm not bad off, but I can never keep my shit together like you do.”

“I like rocket launchers. They solve a lot of problems.” Aisha said, glaring into her empty wine bottle.

“I don't know how to use a rocket launcher.” Jolene replied, pouring some of her wine into Aisha's glass.

“I'll teach you later. When we get back.” Aisha promised.

“And I do not have all my shit together, I just...” Jolene took another drink. “I have always wanted to live in Chicago...”

“See! That's what you gotta do! Make hypothetical plans for the future. They might not work out but at least you've got a goal now.” Abby said, finishing off the braid and tying one of Jenna's pink ribbons to the end.

“Rocket launchers aren't that practical in urban settings. I'll have to get you a handgun.” Aisha said, examining the ribbon.

“You cannot possibly be that drunk from one bottle of wine.” Jolene said, pouring the last of her bottle into her glass.

Aisha smiled, “I'm not, I just get like this when I let someone play with my hair.”

“Cougar does too, but you didn't hear it from me,” Abby whispered, leaning down by Aisha's ear.

“I hate that we all have to wait to do what we want until the boys deal with Max.” Jolene said, nudging Aisha off the pillow. “My turn.”

“You don't need to be that passive. We can still get you set up in Chicago if that's what you really want.” Aisha said, taking Jolene's seat. She pulled her bag out from under the table and started rummaging through it.

Abby kissed Jolene on the head before starting to comb out her hair. “Personally, I'd look at some place like San Diego. I hate the cold.”

“Hmmmm,” Jolene took another drink. “No rush, right? I got time to do some research, get a business plan together.”

Aisha pulled out a handful of bills. “I'm going for more wine. You guys want anything else?”

“Mouse burgers!” Jenna blurted out.

Aisha looked at her and then at Abby. She raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, she talks in her sleep sometimes. At least this was coherent-ish.” Abby shrugged and took another drink. Her bottle was still half-full.

Aisha shook her head and headed out the door.

“You know, she's not so scary when she doesn't have to keep Clay in line.” Abby said.

Jolene laughed, “Yeah, she's growing on me. I wonder what kind of gun I'm going to get.”

{}{}{}

['Feelin' Good' - Nina Simone](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8tuTSi6Sck)

Jolene stood on the balcony of her hotel room, looking out into the French Quarter. She took a deep breath and smiled. She felt rested, calmer, more hopeful.

And her current accommodations, courtesy of Aisha's platinum card, were icing on the cake.

There was just one thing she wanted to make this perfect. Jolene giggled as she took out her cell phone and sent a message.

{}{}{}

Way the hell back in the middle of nowhere...

Pooch was relaxing on his lawn chair, holding his son and watching Clay paint the house.

“You missed a spot, Colonel!” he called out helpfully, pointing with the baby bottle. 

Clay glared over his shoulder at Pooch. “Thank you, sergeant. Very helpful”

“Anything for you, sir!” Pooch replied, huge grin on his face.

“Did you see the spot the silly colonel missed, baby?” he asked his son.

Junior just glared at his father and squalled indignantly. 

“Okay, okay. Here's your bottle back.” Pooch made sure his son had latched on properly and kissed him on the head.

Pooch smiled at his colonel, “Just trying to be helpful, sir.”

Clay turned back to his work, muttering things Pooch couldn't make out.

Pooch was failing to hide his laughter when his phone chimed.

_You have three days to get my baby and your cute ass here._

Pooch did the math in his head. If they left within the next half hour and drove in shifts, they could make it to New Orleans in time. And the mention of his 'cute ass' had him thinking that Jolene was feeling better. Pooch sighed in relief.

“Look,” he said, holding up his phone in front of the baby's face, “Your mama has summoned us and let me tell you now, my son. You do not ignore a summons from your mother.”

**Author's Note:**

> I admit, I was more than a little intimidated when I saw that I had received your request. You are one of my favorite authors in this fandom and I just love your writing. When I saw you asked for a fic of the Losers ladies bonding, I was really excited, there's never going to be enough fic about them as far as I'm concerned. I ended up not using your version of Jensen's sister but hope you enjoy your story nonetheless.


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